£5.5 MILLION SCHEME FOR SHEEP FARMERS BENEFITS 41,000 HECTARES OF HABITAT

31 Jan 2005 11:15 AM

A £5.5 million scheme to help sheep farmers tackle overgrazing and undergrazing has improved wildlife habitats on over 41,000 hectares (or 101,000 acres) of Site of Special Scientific Interest land – an area bigger than the Isle of Wight.

More than 380 farmers and land managers have signed up to English Nature’s Sheep Wildlife Enhancement Scheme (SWES) over the last two years, and have received grants to help them manage wildlife sites through sustainable grazing. Many wildlife habitats in England, including some of our most treasured, like the chalk grassland of the South Downs and open fells of the Lake District, need grazing to keep them healthy. This scheme has enabled farmers to get the right balance for their sheep and these top wildlife habitats.

Dr Andy Clements, English Nature’s Director of Designated Sites, said: “Grazing is the biggest challenge facing SSSI management but schemes like this mean we can work with farmers to make a real difference. We are delighted with the number of farmers who have signed up to the scheme, and shown their commitment to help secure the future of some of our top wildlife sites. We are pleased to operate a scheme which keeps farmers farming.”

The scheme is based on the principle that getting the right type of grazing on SSSIs is dependent on the skills of farmers and land managers. By offering farmers practical support, like paying for shepherding and fencing, the scheme helps them manage wildlife habitats on their farms and provides capital to help develop their farm business and keep it viable during a period of major agricultural change.

The results can be seen across the country, with farmers signing up from the moors of Northumberland to the downs of Kent and across to Bodmin Moor in Cornwall.

Ms Tracy May and her husband David Heard farm sheep and beef cattle at Lydford on the western edge of Dartmoor. Tracy is the chair of the Lydford Commoners Association and administrator to the Forest of Dartmoor Commoners Association. The couple have removed 58 breeding ewes plus their followers from Bridestowe and Sourton, Sourton and Lydford Commons which are all within the Dartmoor Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

This winter Tracy has seen lapwing and golden plover on areas of the commons where they haven’t been seen for many years, and dramatic changes in the vegetation are expected over the next five years. Tracy said: “The money from this agreement has allowed us to consolidate our farm business at a time of great agricultural change, and the scheme will increase the rate of heathland recovery on the commons.”

In Norfolk a former conifer plantation at Brandon Park has been converted to open heath. Grazier Justin Hammond received funding from SWES to pay for 60 rare Jacobs sheep and to help towards the cost of shepherding. After seven months of grazing by the sheep, large areas which were dominated by wavy hair grass have been transformed into a carpet of purple heather buzzing with bees and flecked with butterflies, such as the small copper. The sheep, which have become a valued feature of the new heath by local residents, have also grazed off some silver birch and pine saplings helping to control the further encroachment of scrub.

Notes for editors

  1. English Nature is the Government’s independent wildlife advisor and champions the conservation of wildlife and geology throughout England.

  2. SWES has 2 types of payment - ongoing annual payments for good management, and one-off capital payments. We anticipate that when SWES agreements end in 2010 farmers will go into the new Environmental Stewardship Scheme, which will support the continuation of the good environmental management established via SWES.

  3. Sites of Special Scientific Interest are the country's very best wildlife and geological sites. There are over 4,000 SSSIs in England, covering around 7% of the country's land area. Over half of these sites, by area, are internationally important for their wildlife, and designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Special Protection Areas (SPAs) or Ramsar sites. Many SSSIs are also National Nature Reserves (NNRs) or Local Nature Reserves (LNRs).

  4. The Sheep Wildlife Enhancement Scheme has operated in the following areas: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon, Essex, Herefordshire, Humberside, West Yorkshire, North and South Yorkshire, Norfolk, Northumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Peak District, Suffolk, Sussex, and West Mercia.

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